7 Islands close to Athens

READING TIME

As long as it takes to eat a Greek salad

Spetses

Attica-Athens

Τhe sea captains’ island, Spetses promises la 'dolce vita', whether for a quick weekend getaway or a long holiday. Have a leisurely coffee in Dapia, as you look across the sea towards Kosta and Porto Heli on the Peloponnese. Walk along the waterfront, past the handsome mansions below St Nicholas’ Church, to the Old Harbour with its traditional boatyards. Then visit the Bouboulina and Hatzigiannis-Mexis museums.

Spetses, island of captains, kings and VIPs

Hydra

The aristocratic island of Hydra invites you to experience the beauty that has enchanted international jet setters, artists like Chagall and Picasso and musicians like the late great Leonard Cohen. The port town is cosmopolitan and elegant, with its 18th-century mansions, old churches and marble-flagged steps that serve as streets on this steep island. A trip to take you back in time.

Hydra, the noble isle in the Argosaronic gulf

Poros

A place beloved by Giorgos Seferis, the Greek Nobel laureate, and groundbreaking writer Henry Miller, with its beautiful nature, vintage charm and peaceful ambience. Just a stone’s throw from Galata on the mainland, in Poros you’ll find small tavernas, yacht marinas, neoclassical buildings, a clock tower, pine forests reaching the sea, serenity and relaxation.

Aegina

Just an hour from the port of Piraeus, Aegina is the island closest to Athens. Here you’ll enjoy ancient temples, stone-built Byzantine churches, a delightful old-fashioned port town, delicious local pistachio nuts and a swimming season that lasts until late autumn. This charming, welcoming island will entice you as it has the many from around the world who have chosen to make it their second home.

The temple of Aphaia is located on the eastern side of the island on a peak some 160 meters high

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Agistri

This tiny island, just five minutes from Aegina and about an hour from Piraeus by boat, offers pine-studded landscapes, beautiful bays and hidden coves, pure nature for trekking and biking and picturesque seaside tavernas – perfect for an alternative holiday.

Tzia/Kea

Cyclades

Close to Athens (just one hour from the port of Lavrio, east of Athens) is Tzia (also known as Kea), which will charm you with its cosmopolitan ambience, unique beaches and the mysteries hiding on its seabed.

Kythnos

Cyclades

Picturesque villages boast narrow streets of cobbled stone and gardens full of flowers, next to tiny chapels that pop up on rocky headlands and within forest glades. So much hidden beauty exists on Kythnos, and just a short hop by ferry from Athens. With a history starting in the mists of the Mesolithic period, Kythnos, modest and hospitable, unexpectedly beautiful and serene.